1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for implementing a TURN-ON reservation in a digital and satellite broadcast receiver, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for setting an ON-timer channel of a digital and satellite broadcast receiver which sets and operates an ON-timer channel so that viewers can always watch a program broadcast through an active channel at a desired time in a digital TV, a digital set-top box or a digital satellite broadcast set-top box which provides the ON-timer function.
2. Description of the Background Art
Generally, a TV receiver has a function that it is automatically turned on at a time reserved by a user, for which, thus, the user may set a desired channel in advance and the TV receiver is turned on at a desired time. The function that the TV receiver is automatically turned on at a reserved time is called ON-timer function.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a general ON-timer channel setting apparatus of a digital broadcast receiver in accordance with a conventional art.
As shown in the drawing, the general ON-time channel setting apparatus of a digital broadcast receiver includes a tuner 10 for tuning a signal received through an antenna; a TP demux unit 20 for separating the signal tuned by the tuner 10 into an audio, a video and a data signals and outputting the same; an A/V decoding unit 30 for converting the signal received from the TP demux unit 20 into an audio and a video signals; a display unit 50 for displaying the audio and the video signals outputted from the A/V decoding unit 30 on a screen; and a controlling unit 40 for parsing the data signal detected from the TP demux 20 and outputting data information in a form suitable to be displayed to the display unit 50.
The controlling unit 40 includes a DB engine 41 for parsing the data signal provided from the TP demux 20 and a memory 42 for storing the data information parsed by the DB engine 41.
The operation of the ON-timer setting apparatus of the general digital receiver constructed as described above will now be explained.
First, after the signal received through the antenna is tuned by the tuner 10, and the tuned signal is separated into an audio, a video and a data signal by the TP demux unit 20.
And then, the A/V decoding unit 30 receives the audio and the video signals outputted from the TP demux unit 20, converts and displays them on the screen.
Meanwhile, the controlling unit 40 receives the data signal from the TP demux unit 20, extracts and stores required information, and transmits information to the display unit 50 upon a user""s request.
Thus, when the user sets a channel by using the ON-timer function in a channels setting mode, the set channel is turned on at the time set by the user.
However, in case of the digital and satellite broadcast receiver (referred to as a digital broadcast receiver, hereinbelow), it happens frequently that a channel set by the user is not displayed, resulting in that the user is not able to watch a desired program. Thus, the user should remember the channel number and inputs a desired channel in person in case.
The reason for this is that, in case of satellite broadcast, channels are mostly marked by a logo, and in case of the digital broadcast, in setting a channel, the channels exist in a major and a minor form from the viewpoint of characteristics of a virtual channel, which are mobile, not fixed.
In addition, even through the user remembers the desired channel and sets an ON-timer channel, when the TV receiver is turned on at the time set by the user, the channel happens not to be an active channel. In this case, the user should operates the channel again to convert it into an active channel.
The active channel means a channel that broadcasting is substantially conducted at the time to be set by the ON-timer by the user, which is because the virtual channel is mobile, not fixed. That is, the active channel signifies the existence of the channel itself.
Thus, the conventional digital broadcast receiver causes much inconvenience for the above described reasons.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ON-timer channel setting method and apparatus of a digital broadcast receiver in which after a user sets a channel as an ON-timer channel, when a TV receiver is turned on at the pre-set time, the active channel is substantially selected from the digital channel, a virtual channel, so that the user can always watch a TV program on the air as the digital broadcast receiver is automatically turned on by virtue of the ON-timer function.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an ON-timer channel setting method and apparatus of a digital broadcast receiver by which even though a user does not accurately remember a channel number, an active channel can be set conveniently with digital channels, virtual channels.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided an ON-timer channel setting apparatus of a digital broadcast receiver including: a tuner 10 for tuning a received signal through an antenna; a TP demux unit 20 for separating the signal tuned by the tuner 10 into an audio, a video and a data signals and outputting the same; an A/V decoding unit 30 for converting the signal received from the TP demux unit 20 into an audio and a video signals; a display unit 50 for displaying the audio and the video signals outputted from the A/V decoding unit 30 on a screen; and a controlling unit 40 for parsing the data signal detected from the TP demux 20 and outputting data information in a form suitable to be displayed to the display unit 50.
In the above apparatus, the controlling unit 40 includes a DB engine 41 for parsing the data signal provided from the TP demux 20, a memory 42 for storing the data information parsed by the DB engine 41 and a channel manager 43 for comparing and controlling the data information detected from the DB engine 41 and the memory 42.
In order to achieve the above objects, there is also provided an ON-timer channel setting method of a digital broadcast receiver in which a broadcast signal is received and a menu screen is outputted as an On Screen Display, including: a step in which in case that a digital broadcast receiver provides a channel list or a category channel list of channels frequently viewed by viewers and there is a channel added by a user, whenever the user depresses an up/down key of a remote controller, corresponding channels are sequentially displayed of which a desired channel is set as an ON-timer; a step in which in case that the digital broadcast receiver does not provide a channel list or in case that the digital broadcast receiver does provide a channel list but not include a desired channel, active channels of a channel map of the digital broadcast receiver are sequentially displayed and desired channels of the active channels are set as ON-timer channels; and a step in which when the digital broadcast receiver provides a program guide, only substantially active channels out of the above channels are displayed at a time set in the ON-timer menu, of which desired channels are set as ON-timer channels.